Backpacks, shoes, folders, agendas, paperwork, homework, lunch boxes, afternoon snacks and both kids fighting to be heard over the other. Every afternoon this same tornedo storms through my kitchen.
And every afternoon, I am left standing in it's wake instructing the kids, yet again, to please hang up their coats and to please put away their shoes.
I sign field trip forms, write checks for the latest fundraiser, mark important dates on the calendar, look over the list of homework that needs to be completed, review the work that came home and clean out lunch boxes.
It's chaos. And I've only got two kids. (Jennifer, I pray for you girl. A lot.)
Normally when I am cleaning out Sarah's lunch box, I will go over what the school cafeteria is offering the next day and ask whether they want to pack or buy. Noramlly Peter's answer is always "Buy!" and Sarah's answer is always "Pack!"
But when they both decided to "Buy!" on Wednesday, I did a tiny little jig. I hate to pack lunches.
On Wedensday afternoon, after the debris had settled from the afternoon whirlwind, I asked Sarah how the school nuggets were. She loves the school nuggets.
"I only had those dried out pickles you packed," she complained.
"Dried out pickles? What dried out pickles?"
And then it hit me. I didn't take her lunchbox out of her backpack the day before and the pickles that she didn't eat on Tuesday remained in the lunchbox on Wednesday. And when she saw the lunch box in her backpack on Wednesday morning, she assumed I packed lunch for her so she didn't place her nugget order wtih the cafeteria.
So poor Sarah didn't have any lunch on Wednesday. Well, if there's a lesson to be learned in all this, it's not that I'm a horrible mother, it's that Sarah needs to start cleaning out her own lunch box. That's the lesson. Right?
9 comments:
Awww...poor Sarah. Now I have to admit, as a teacher, I don't have time to call 21 parents everyday to make sure the students have the right lunch. But you can bet if a child showed me an empty lunch box with only a dried-up pickle, I'd at least make a quick call to double check with the parents. Or even have the child eat, and send a note home explaining what happened. Poor Sarah!
Poor girl AND poor mommy! I can't say that this has ever happened in our house, but I am surprised it hasn't! I'm sure there is a lesson for you both in this, I just don't know for sure what the lesson is! You poor things!
Don't beat your self up. I did the samething only the lady in cafeteria felt sorry for my child and doubled him up on the steak fingers! Have a great weekend!!
Oh, I am SO with you...I always hated packing lunches! My kids are all grown now, and I miss a lot of things about their childhoods, but that's not one of them!
I enjoyed visiting your blog--hope you'll check mine out!
Wow, rough way to learn a lesson...but I totally agree with your moral! I feel sorry for the poor thing, but I bet she will remember to clean out her own lunchbox next time!
Have a great weekend!
LOL! That sounds like my house every day when the kids get out of school. Times 4!
I totally agree with you, too. Must be time for the little one to start cleaning out her own lunch box. That IS the moral! :)
Hope you have a great weekend!
Beth.
I could so relate to your description of afternoon chaos. My house is now a whole lot quieter (2 oldest have left home, sniff) but I used to stand in the middle of the kitchen and wonder what hit me after they all came through with their loads and requests for snacks. Phew.
Dried pickles for lunch is pretty sad. I'll bet that one will stay in the memory book.... Great lesson in there!
Poor girl! But I had to laugh. I've had that same thing happen with me and my husband, but he has had the ability to go out and buy lunch.
Is it ok if I believe that the "prayer for Jennifer" you mentioned is for all Jennifer's with 4 kids? LOL! I need all the help I can get.
Hang in there.
Smiles!
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